


(Let Me Show You) What You're Missing

by princessmiakitten



Category: Free!, Haikyuu!!
Genre: Crossover Pairings, Fluff, M/M, Multi, firefighter makoto and iwaizumi, i cry a lot okay, pediatrician oikawa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-02
Updated: 2015-07-02
Packaged: 2018-04-07 07:09:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4254078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/princessmiakitten/pseuds/princessmiakitten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Makoto spends the night bundled up in Hajime’s shirt and Tooru’s favorite alien pajama pants, tucked safely between both of them and sleeping soundly, face nestled into Hajime’s chest and fingers tangled with Tooru’s.</p>
<p>Somehow these three people with their souls dim managed to find the ones that make it light up the most.</p>
            </blockquote>





	(Let Me Show You) What You're Missing

**Author's Note:**

> this is purely self indulgent because i love iwamako

Hajime is not a religious man.

He is not a religious man but there are some things that he’s seen that make him question whether or not he should change that--

Like now.

There’s an actual angel in front of him.

That’s the only way Hajime could justly describe the crying, broad shouldered male curled up on the park bench. Even with blotchy, red skin and tired, distant, bloodshot eyes, the man was absolutely beautiful.

Absolutely angelic.

And Hajime is just standing still, watching the angel stare blankly into space, not even noticing the fact that Hajime’s there.

It’s eight in the morning, it’s about to rain, and Hajime doesn’t know what to do-- It’s not like he just wants to leave the man there by himself, but he’s still skeptical. If it had been Tooru in Hajime’s place, there would be no doubt in his mind that the man would be in their shared apartment already, nursing a cup of tea and an alien blanket around his shoulders.

But Hajime was not Tooru, and he constantly thanked God for that.

No matter how sad those beautiful green eyes were, he couldn’t just take a stranger to his house. And if he stood there any longer, he’d be late for work.

He takes a deep breath, takes out a bottle of water and the umbrella from his backpack, placing both objects next to the male. It seems to snap him out of whatever trance he was in, glassy green eyes looking from Hajime down to the objects.

Hajime can see the confusion, see the male’s hands moving to take the objects to probably give them back, but he starts to head on his way before the male can even speak.

The rain starts to pour when he steps inside the fire station.

Hajime’s not a religious man, but he prays that he’ll see the angel again.

And evidently, some higher power hears his prayers because two weeks later, he walks into work and right into the man himself.

He actually has to do a double take when he looks up just enough to see the familiar green eyes, now bright and practically sparkling instead of empty and reddened. For the first time in his life, he’s actually stunned to the point where he can’t even form words.

The man smiles.

Hajime can’t breathe.

He’s never been more thankful for Hanamaki Takahiro in his life than at that moment, when his friend decides to come over and clamp his hand onto Hajime’s shoulders.

“Iwaizumi-san, meet our newest poker buddy. His name is Tachibana Makoto and he just transferred from Fire Station 25, downtown.” Not one to be rude, Hajime bows and mumbles out a greeting, still too flustered to say much else. He politely excuses himself from the conversation with a comment about paperwork that needed to be done or something or another, and he’s soon making his way to his office with haste.

“That’s our chief, Iwaizumi Hajime-san. Just give him a few days and he’ll warm up to you.”

“I hope he does.” His words are followed by a small laugh that Hajime can hear even as he makes his way up the stairs.

He’s glad no one is around to see his knees buckle.

Of course, Tooru notices immediately when Hajime comes home, always hyper aware of his emotions. Apparently there’s something different about the way he looks. According to Tooru, Hajime’s demeanor seems to be lighter, more calm.

And he supposes while Tooru gets his heart racing with his passion and excitement, Tachibana Makoto eases his heart with his soothing personality and kind eyes.

He doesn’t usually keep things from Tooru, and he wishes he could say he was surprised by the fact that the brunet wanted to meet this Tachibana Makoto. Hajime just grunts in response and goes to bed.

The next time the two are alone is when the station gets a call in about a cat stuck in a tree, two weeks later-- a very distressed call, which probably meant that the owner was being difficult with the operator. It was a small job, and so Hajime complies since there was nothing else for him to do, heading out of his office to look for another person to take with him.

Hajime had forgotten that the only other people on duty today were Makoto and Takahiro, and he would be damned if he let this chance go to waste.

Tooru would give him such a tongue-lashing if he went home that night without any progress.

“Tachibana, let’s go. We’re on cat saving duty.” Hajime swears he sees the sun in Makoto’s smile, it’s so brilliant. He looks away before he can say something stupid, scratching the back of his head as he walks away to go down to the truck.

Maybe Makoto liked cats? He and Tooru had a dog-- A Leonberger to satisfy Hajime’s need for a big dog and Tooru’s need for a fluffy one. Maybe Makoto liked dogs too.

Or maybe Hajime was getting ahead of himself.

He rubs his eyes, not looking up when Makoto gets into the passenger seat.

Deep breath, Hajime.

In.

Out.

He pulls out of the garage, not bothering with the sirens since it was just a cat rescue and that wasn’t enough of an emergency for them. He keeps his eyes on the road, every so often looking over at the olive haired male who kept his sights outside the window.

It was a beautiful sight, really. The sun making Makoto’s skin glow, the wind messing with his hair.

Breathtaking.

“So, do you like animals?” Hajime blurts out before he can stop himself, the tips of his ears heating up. Smooth.

Makoto finally looks at Hajime and nods, seeming pleased with the question.

“I love animals. I wanted to become a vet when I was in high school, but that would’ve meant I’d have to put them down sometimes and I don’t really have the heart for that.” Makoto chuckles and tucks his hair behind his ear and Hajime’s overwhelmed by how much he wants to kiss him. “I used to have a cat. But now she lives with someone else, so I don’t really see her anymore.”

It made Hajime’s heart throb, the way that Makoto’s eyes got all distant and sad, just like the first time Hajime ever saw him. He didn’t know how else to comfort him, not really comfortable with touching other people that weren’t Tooru, but Hajime could see it in Makoto’s face, that he needed someone to turn to. So he sucks it up and leaves one hand on the wheel while the other patted Makoto on the shoulder.

“My boyfriend and I have a dog. She’s a big one, very energetic, so she’s great to take on morning runs.”

The conversation stops there as Hajime pulls up in front of an old house with an old woman in front of an old tree. He can see clearly that the cat is on a lower branch, but still unreachable without a ladder.

He sees movement from the corner of his eye, but he doesn’t look at the man next to him, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible. It’s not that he didn’t like these kinds of jobs-- They were just tedious and the owners tended to not be the most rational of people. Hajime gets out of the truck and walks around to Makoto’s side to take off the ladder.

He almost drops it on his foot when Makoto comes out of the truck in only his pants and tank-top, having shed his coat. Traps for days-- He quickly shakes his head and clears his throat, trying to focus on the task at hand.

Trying, being the operative word.

Hajime can finally think clearly when Makoto goes to soothe the old woman, and it’s actually pretty cute. The woman fawns over him-- who wouldn’t, really? With the human being taken care of, Hajime sets up the latter so that it’s stable against the tree, about to take a step on it when Makoto comes jogging over.

“Iwaizumi-san, do you mind if I go up instead? I’ve always wanted to save a cat from a tree.” There’s a rosy blush on Makoto’s cheeks and it’s just so.

Cute.

And who is Hajime to say no to that?

He nods and steps aside, instead holding the ladder for an extra wall of support. And it’s a pretty quick mission-- Makoto goes up, the kitten practically jumps into his arms, and he stands there for a moment just to pet the animal.

He was expecting this to be easy, but he wasn’t expecting a tree branch to fall, causing the kitten to be frightened and jump out of Makoto’s arms.

It all happened too fast-- The branch took Makoto by surprise and he can’t get a grip before it’s too late and he’s falling back. Hajime underestimates the gravitational force pulling Makoto down, and so before he knows it, he’s on the ground with Makoto’s back against his chest, his arms around Makoto’s trim waist.

Tooru was going to have a field day.

Makoto's warm against him and he smells like ocean waves and it makes him a little dizzy since it's so intoxicating. It's a nice smell, different than Tooru's sharp citrus. Hajime doesn't particularly want to let him go, but Makoto might think it was a little weird. It's not like they've known each other for long.

When he realizes this, Hajime immediately retracts his arms and he really hopes he's not imagining things when Makoto lingers a little before getting up and offering his hand out to Hajime. There's that sunshine smile again and it makes Hajime feel like a girl with a crush.

Maybe it was a crush.

It was definitely a crush.

He doesn't hesitate in taking his hand, noticing how it was just a little bigger than his own, and way bigger than Tooru's. Hajime pulls himself up and thanks Makoto with a grunt, and he could hear Tooru saying: "Such a brute, Iwa-chan. Treat Mako-chan with kindness."

Hajime thinks about it while Makoto goes to speak to the lady, and to get a second opinion, he texts Tooru himself. It's only midday, so the pediatrician should be on his lunch break. He doesn't ask Makoto until they're both seated in the truck, Hajime already driving in the direction of the fire station.

"Tachibana-san, would you like to come have lunch with me? There's this nice café a few blocks down from the station." Makoto gives his cute little giggle and it reminds him of Tooru. They would get along so well, he thinks as he stops at the red light, pink tinting his tanned cheeks.

"Are you asking me on a date, Iwaizumi-san? Your boyfriend might get jealous." Makoto teases and he groans a little on the inside because how can someone be so cute? If Tooru had said the same exact thing, there's no doubt in his mind that Hajime would attempt to deck him. But maybe that was because of the familiarity that came with Tooru, with how long they've known each other.

Hajime was an honest man, though, and so despite Makoto's teasing, he says it for what it is.

"In fact, I am. My boyfriend wants to meet you, actually. He's on his way to the café."

There. It's out there. Hajime chances a look over at the other male and he immediately has to look away since Makoto is just looking at him, green eyes wide and a little confused. His own blush only spreads down to his neck and he clears his throat.

It takes a few minutes, and they're down the block from the fire station, and Hajime has to strain to hear what Makoto says.

"Then I guess...we can have lunch together..." Makoto's looking down, a small smile on his lips.

Hajime doesn't feel like such an idiot anymore. He doesn't say a word until they're parked inside the station, and he makes his way out and around to open the door for Makoto.

Ever the gentleman, he knows.

But it makes Makoto smile and that’s an amazing reward. It’s a little odd, but Hajime kind of wants to make sure Makoto always smiles around him.

All they really do is hang their coats up and they’re ready to go, back into the blazing sun in tank-tops and their uniform pants, walking side by side to the café.

“So, Iwaizumi-san--”

“Call me Hajime.” Hajime blurts out, and he’s not even sure why since he didn’t let anyone call him by his first name except for his parents and Tooru-- but Tooru rarely did, preferring to call him “Iwa-chan” in his ridiculously grating tone.

“Hajime-kun? What does your boyfriend do?” Hajime can see how shy Makoto is, and he mentally prepares himself for the Tooru’s yelling when they’re home that night.

“He’s a pediatrician. He has his own office downtown, so not too far away.” Makoto starts to chew on his lip and Hajime starts to breathe a little heavily.

“How long have you guys known each other?”

“How long have I been alive?” Hajime snorts, but Makoto just looks at him expectantly. Only he gets his humor. “I’m turning twenty-six, so twenty years? More or less. Oikawa and I grew up together, went to school together, now we live together. He’s a goddamn brat.”

Makoto doesn’t ask anymore questions, but the silence isn’t awkward. It’s more companionable, an easy silence until they get to the café and Hajime is almost knocked down as soon as he walks in the door.

Oikawa Tooru is a force to be reckoned with-- to anyone but Hajime. All he really does to acknowledge Tooru’s affection is pat him on the back before the brunet’s attention is on Makoto.

Oh dear.

Just as quick as he came onto Hajime, Tooru lets go and latches onto Makoto. He was never one for boundaries, and Hajime doesn’t even stop him when he goes to kiss Makoto’s cheek.

And it’s not that Makoto even looks uncomfortable by the situation, just frazzled and confused.

Kind of like a puppy.

Cute.

“Iwa-chan has told me so much about you, Mako-chan! It’s such a pleasure to finally meet you!” Hajime can tell Makoto has so many questions to ask, but he doesn’t, instead just opting to smile and nod.

It’s a good option, really, and Hajime commends him on not decking Tooru in the face. He knows he surely would’ve by now. But Makoto is a soft heart, and so so good for the two of them to be around.

Tooru takes the lead, as usual, and begins to talk about himself while practically dragging Makoto over to a table. Hajime hangs back a little, hands in his pockets as he tunes out their conversation for the most part.

And it’s not that he’s not invested in them.

He’s just so distracted by how pretty the two of them are.

The chimes attached to the front door ring and it gets Makoto’s attention-- and Hajime watches as Makoto’s bright expression morphs into one of sadness and pain.

Just like the first day.

It seemed like Tooru had noticed as well, and the two of them turn to see a man with alarmingly red hair at the doorway, equally stunned.

Hajime doesn’t really know what to do, and neither does Tooru, but they each take Makoto’s hand in theirs, Tooru lacing his fingers through Makoto’s slightly thicker ones while Hajime settles for just rubbing Makoto’s soft skin with the pad of his thumb.

It feels like forever before Makoto’s broken out of whatever trance he was in and the red haired man leaves, and Hajime can see the tears welling up in those green eyes.

His heart clenches.

Makoto, despite the sadness in his eyes, smiles like everything’s okay. Smiles like it’s Hajime and Tooru that need to be taken care of, like they’re the ones that weren’t about to cry their eyes out. It makes Hajime angry. Makoto excuses himself from the table to go to the bathroom and Hajime and Tooru give each other a look that manages to convey the same sentiments.

He comes back minutes later with slightly blotchy skin and pink eyes.

No one comments.

If it hadn’t been for Tooru being Tooru, they would’ve departed quietly. But of course, the brunet made Makoto promise to come over for dinner and left in a flurry of sound and activity.

For once, Hajime doesn’t complain. It makes Makoto laugh.

It becomes a regular thing, Makoto joining Hajime and Tooru for lunch in that small café, at half past noon.

It’s nice.

It’s comfortable.

While they do get lunch together, Makoto doesn’t take up the offer to come over until one fall night, months later, when it seemed like the heavens were falling from the sky from how hard it was raining. Hajime had just managed to pull Tooru away from his laptop, had managed to convince the brunet for a small coffee break to rest his eyes from the research Tooru never seemed to stop doing.

The two were curled up on the couch, the sound of rain pelting against the window echoing throughout their living room, when Hajime’s phone goes off. It’s a blaring tone, one that he only put to annoy Tooru, and he has half a mind not to answer it when he realizes it might be the office.

Firefighters, always on duty, even when it’s implausible for there to be a fire.

With a lot of effort, he gets up from the couch and from Tooru’s bundle of blankets, to check his phone, Makoto’s name flashing on the screen.

And he panics.

Hajime keeps his voice calm despite his internal feelings, and all he hears for a moment is heavy breathing before Makoto’s voice whispers, a broken sound that makes Hajime’s heart flare with pain.

“Hajime-kun...can you open the door, please?”

He doesn’t even need to hear more, and he’s already on his way to unlatch the door, Tooru’s questions just empty noise behind him. Hajime opens it to a dripping wet Makoto, his shoulders shaking and his clothes clinging to his body.

And he has the audacity to smile at Hajime like he’s okay.

Hajime knows he isn’t okay. He knows that Makoto’s been crying, that he’s been in the rain for who knows how long, that he’s so so sad.

And Hajime doesn’t say anything. He just wraps his arms around Makoto’s torso and lets the taller man bury his face into Hajime’s neck and sob.

Hajime feels like crying too.

By now, Tooru’s made his way over and he joins the hug, his hands rubbing Makoto’s back delicately because he, too, wants to know how to soothe this angel’s heart.

Hajime is not a religious man, but he prays to find out who hurt this angel so he can do the physical equivalent to the scars left on Makoto’s heart.

They stand like that for a while until Makoto begins to sneeze and sniffle, and immediately, Tooru pushes them both inside and takes off Makoto’s wet clothes without any prompting. Makoto, as shy as he is, goes to stop the brunet, but he’s too tired and too weak to actually put any effort in it.

Makoto spends the night bundled up in Hajime’s shirt and Tooru’s favorite alien pajama pants, tucked safely between both of them and sleeping soundly, face nestled into Hajime’s chest and fingers tangled with Tooru’s.

They don’t pressure him to talk about it in the morning.

Makoto couldn’t be more grateful.

From then on, it wasn’t odd for Makoto to show up at their door most nights. It wasn’t odd for Makoto to reveal things about himself, to reveal his heart piece by broken piece and for Hajime and Tooru to do the same. It wasn’t odd for Makoto to be cuddled up between Hajime and Tooru on the couch, their fingers interlocked under the covers and the sound of rain lulling them all to sleep.

The three of them lapse into a routine, something comfortable and easy, within the months leading up to summer. It’s never been hard with the two of them, Hajime reflects. They each bring something to the table, things that the other needs so desperately.

For Hajime, it’s passion as well as calm. Tooru brings out a fire in Hajime, one that’s unrivaled by anyone and keeps him on his toes constantly. Makoto, on the other hand, brings him down, keeps him levelheaded. An odd combination, really, but something that brings balance to Hajime’s life.

For Tooru, it’s familiarity and tenderness. While Hajime can be tender, it’s not without flippant words and sarcastic remarks. It’s how they are, how they always were. Makoto gives him the care that he needs, with soft words and gentle caresses that are all so genuine that it makes Tooru feel like his pancreas is going to burst from how sweet the green eyed man is.

And for Makoto, he’s getting security. He’s getting love. He’s getting everything he deserves and has two beautiful people to thank for that.

Somehow these three people with their souls dim managed to find the ones that make it light up the most.

Summer comes around and it marks the one year of meeting Makoto, and that’s reason enough to celebrate.

At least, to Tooru.

And Tooru’s idea of a celebration usually involved a lot of alcohol and cake-- two things to which Hajime was never opposed. But Tooru was a lightweight and a very...affectionate...drunk, and Makoto might get scared off by seeing this side to him.

It turns out to be just the opposite.

The three sit around the apartment, as per usual by now. Tooru pops open the champagne while Hajime cuts the cake, and it’s really a mistake to ever leave Tooru alone with alcohol.

He drinks straight from the bottle-- always so enthusiastic about everything-- before handing it off to Makoto, who opts to pour it into glasses. Ever the responsible man, really. But it doesn’t really make a difference to Tooru, who has downed the flute in one go before Hajime even got a chance to set down the cake.

It’s amusing more than anything to watch Tooru go from excited sober to excited drunk. Hajime sits down and before he can blink, Tooru is on his lap, his arms wrapped around Hajime’s neck.

“Mako-chan, listen.” Tooru demands, slurred words coming out through loose lips. But the green-eyed man does, coming to sit closer to Hajime and just close enough for Tooru to reach over and pat his cheek. “We want you to move in with us.”

Well, there was the real motive for the party.

Makoto looks at them with wide eyes and a pink tint on his cheeks which was probably not from the liquor. His eyes dart from Tooru to Hajime and back to Tooru when all Hajime does is nod. Makoto can’t even use the drunk excuse since Hajime hasn’t even touched his glass.

“We love you, Mako-chan. Like, yeah, Iwa-chan and I have known each other our whole lives but we didn’t know we were missing something until you came along. So move in with us?” Tooru was painfully honest, but he did convey his feelings better than Hajime ever could.

And, for once, Makoto started to cry with happiness in his eyes.

Tooru moves over to one leg and pats Hajime’s other one as a motion for Makoto to sit, and he does so without hesitation, his arms wrapping around the other two.

The three sit there on the couch, their hearts welled in their chest from the amount of love in the room and mending together. The silence, like most things are with them, is comfortable.

This, Hajime thinks, is paradise.


End file.
